South America, Bolivia, Chearoco West Face, South and North Summits

Chearoco west face, south and north summits. Rodolfo Grispo and I climbed the west face of Chearoco (6157 meters, 20,200 feet) in June. The face consisted of 55° frozen firn of excellent quality above a large icefall. We bivouacked at the base of the face at about 5200 meters. Our climb topped out near the south summit, which may have been unclimbed, and then we traversed to the higher north peak. A note about the approach: We entered via the towns of Kerani, Corpapacu and Chachacomani, typical indian villages. The road, which requires a sturdy vehicle, ends here, but you can easily hire pack llamas. Above the last village, we unfortunately encountered problems with a group of campesinos.